News early this week of wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez's return to the practice field was encouraging, but it still left people like me cautiously optimistic.
Yes, it's nice Gonzo is back practicing, but past experience has taught me not to get to excited about that prospect. Gonzo is injury prone; aka, for those of you out there still clinging to this idea that Gonzo is somehow 'misunderstood' when it comes to injuries, he gets hurt a lot. So, while it's good to see him running, practicing, catching passes in shorts, the issue with Gonzo is his inability to stay healthy for long periods of time during a season. As I have often said, this is frustrating because I like Gonzo. He's a hard worker. He cares about the game. He takes his job seriously. Oh, and Peyton Manning loves the dude.
However, the Colts (in my not-so-humble opinion) have probably grown tired of Gonzo's constant trips to the training room, which is likely why they made a claim for former Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas this week.
Thomas was a second round pick of the Redskins in 2008 out of Michigan State, where he played with current Colts wideout Blair White. At 6'2, 215 pounds, Thomas provides size and speed (4.4 40) to any wide receiving corps. He can also return kicks.
Currently, the Colts have Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie. Anthony Gonzalez, Kenneth Moore, and Blair White at the receiver position. This Sunday night, all could be active. Moore and White are on the roster mostly for their special teams contributions. Had the Colts gotten Thomas (he went to Carolina because their worse record gave them the stronger 'claim' over Indianapolis), the Colts would have needed to cut a receiver. Conventional thought is they would have cut Moore.
However, I think they would have cut Gonzo.
See, Gonzo cannot play special teams. He's just too brittle. The Colts seem scared to use him as a punt returner, and I doubt we will ever see Gonzo running downfield on punts as a gunner. With Garcon firmly entrenched as a starter at flanker, and Collie having a truly monstrous start to his '10 season, Gonzo is (essentially) warming the bench. If Indy had gotten Thomas, he could have played special teams along with Moore and White, and right now special teams is a priority with all the injuries Indy has sustained.
Thus, Gonzo would then be expendable.
Again, that's just my opinion, and a little food for thought. The Colts could have also wanted Thomas only for this week in particular. The Colts play Thomas' old team Sunday night, and a little inside info on the Redskins playbook is something Thomas could have provided.